BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Two Indiana University Emergency Management and Continuity personnel -- Carlos Garcia, IUEMC director for IUPUI, and Joe Romero, IUEMC director for regional campuses -- have been deployed to assist with the response to Hurricane Sandy and the expected overlapping winter storm hitting the East Coast.

Garcia and Romero are part of a 15-person Incident Management Assistance Team deployed to Maryland at 6 a.m. Sunday by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. Their deployment will last until Nov. 11, unless the assignment is extended.

"We are proud to avail part of our emergency management staff to the Indiana teams that will provide assistance to our fellow citizens on the East Coast," said Mark Bruhn, IU associate vice president for public safety and institutional assurance. "Their value to this sort of emergency is a testament also to the seriousness with which we take emergency planning and response on our own campuses."

On Oct. 27, Indiana began receiving requests for resources to help with evacuation and emergency response for Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security immediately increased staffing at the State of Indiana Emergency Operations Center to reach out to partners within the state, including Indiana University, to evaluate resources that could be deployed to assist.

"We believe Indiana was one of the first, if not the first, state to respond to the request for aid from the East Coast," said Joe Wainscott, director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. "We are constantly planning, training and preparing our emergency response resources so they can be readily available to assist our citizens in Indiana and others in their time of need."

A total of 107 personnel and 44 vehicles, including 24 ambulances, have been deployed. Teams will assist however they are needed, but some anticipated actions include evacuation of hospitals and nursing homes. They also will stand by to provide response assistance as directed.

The Incident Management Assistance Team that IU's Garcia and Romero are part of also includes public safety professionals from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana Department of Correction, Integrated Public Safety Commission, Indiana Office of Technology, Montgomery County, the City of Lafayette, Indiana State Police and the Family and Social Services Administration.

The IDHS also deployed two All Hazards Incident Management Teams and five Emergency Medical Services Teams. There are no further requests at this time.